Control Is Getting DLC and Expansions From Now to ‘Mid 2020’

An Alan Wake tie-in seems pretty likely at this point, too.

Control is one helluva game. The flawed jewel really grabbed my attention earlier this year with its well-crafted world, sharp writing, and sparkling action. But you know what I wish? I wish Control got way, way weirder. And it seems like that might be possible in the game’s upcoming DLC and expansions. The first free update will come later this year, with more scheduled in December and throughout the first half of 2020. Oh, and it seems like Remedy is teasing an Alan Wake crossover with at least one of the expansions.

This news comes from a combination press release and “content roadmap.” I’m shilling both of them here because I think the game is pretty nifty, and the expansions sound genuinely interesting. Although the first update also seems like the least important (to me). As you can see in the roadmap yourself, below, it’s a photo mode coming sometime this fall. I’m sure somebody will put it to good use. Control is a gorgeous game — when it’s not chugging at a severely compromised frame rate. But my digital photography skills are pretty poor…

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After that, though, we get “Expeditions.” This is new endgame where you get to explore something called the Formation. I believe that’s where all the big, spooky rocks come from throughout parts of the main game. These Expeditions will be free to all players who already own Control, too.

The second two expansions appear to be paid DLC. They promise “new story missions, teams, enemies and game mechanics, and will take place in new locations within the Oldest House.” I’m not really sure what “teams” means in this context, but the rest seems A-okay in my book. I’d love for Control to lean into its wilder side. While the main game does get there, eventually, it takes a while before we get to see much more than spooky office walls and men with guns. New monsters and more story is just what the Board ordered.

Speaking of the Board —that ominous, talking pyramid that orders you around in Control — they’re at the heart of the first paid expansion. “The Foundation” has you exploring more of the Oldest House, where the game takes place, at the entity’s behest. It seems like this expansion will focus on some of the game’s creepy, fictional history.

Remedy

The last piece of DLC, “AWE,” unlocks an entirely new area of the Oldest House. The Investigations Sector is apparently where the Federal Bureau of Control examines Altered World Events: the game’s name for supernatural catastrophes. The teaser image for AWE also heavily implies a connection to another Remedy game. The font and image of a man holding a flashlight almost look pulled straight off the box art for Alan Wake.

For those who haven’t played Control, it’s heavily implied that both games take place in the same universe. And by “heavily implied,” I mean several documents throughout the game refer to Alan and company by name. Control even calls the events of the first Alan Wake an AWE itself. The connection seems too strong to ignore.

We’ll know for sure sometime in “mid 2020.” That’s the release date for AWE listed in the Control roadmap. Until then, here’s hoping the DLC does the base game justice.